Ceiling air terminal



y 1968 D. A. FRAGNITO ETAL 3,383,999

CEILING AIR TERMINAL Filed July 5, 1967 F|G.I

15 27 552 9, II 5 I9 as 5| 29 I9 l5 I3 33 zl I Q I 15 43 2: -1:1 53 l /"2'23, 43

INVENTORS.

DANIEL A. FRAGNITO. 42 BY WALTER B. TOPER.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,383,999 CEILING AIR TERMINAL Daniel A. Fragnito, Solvay, and Walter B. Toper, Syracuse, N.Y., assignors to Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, N. a corporation of Delaware Filed July 3, 1967, Ser. No. 650,888 2 Claims. (Cl. 98- -40) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A room terminal for use in an air conditioning system having a variable air discharge area to regulate air flow into the space being conditioned in response to the temperature thereof.

Background of the invention This invention relates to air conditioning units and more particularly to air conditioning units for discharging conditioned air from a central source into the area to be conditioned. In many air conditioning applications, it is desirable to condition the air at a central location, the conditioned air being discharged into the area for ventilation and to maintain the desired humidity and temperature thereof. Very often, conditioned areas will be vacant for long periods of time, lights may be extinguished and equipment may not be used. Under the circumstances, the temperature of the room will approach the temperature of the air discharged into the area which lowers the temperature to an uncomfortable level. Thermostatically controlled, variable flow, room terminals are therefore desirable for most air conditioning systems utilizing air terminals.

One of the popular types of room air terminals is the ceiling unit which provides very good air distribution throughout the area, and, because of its location, does not occupy valuable floor space.

However, a number of problems are encountered with ceiling air terminals. These units are often hung from rafters or girders by wires or straps so the bottom surface of the unit is co-planar with the room ceiling. To minimize damage to the unit while it is being installed, it is necessary to provide a unit which is sufliciently stiff to resist the bending stresses encountered during installation. Further, it is common practice to utilize conditioned air pressure as a control medium for regulating the amount of air discharged from the unit. For proper control of the unit, maximum system efficiency, and minimum unit noise level, it is necessary to provide a unit which is free of air leaks along seams, joints, etc, caused by misalignment of parts and improper sealing and joining of seams.

Summary of the invention In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, a ceiling type air terminal is provided having a novel sheet metal configuration to provide unit rigidity, precise alignment of parts prior to joining and minimal surfaces to be sealed to minimize possibilities of leaks. To accomplish this, the ceiling terminal supply air plenum is provided with a rib formed in the lower portion of each side thereof to provide alignment for the remaining sheet metal parts of the terminal.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a sectional end view of a ceiling type air terminal;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section taken along line IlI-III of FIGURE 2.

3,383,999 Patented May 21, 1968 Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to the drawings, there is shown an air terminal 2 illustrating the preferred form of the invention. The terminal is provided with a body member 3 defined by a top plate 5, side walls 7 and on the bottom by a closure 9 so as to form an enclosure for mating engagement with supply air ductwork. As can be seen, each side wall 7 has a rib therein formed by a top portion 11 substantially perpendicular to wall 7, a wall section 13 substantially parallel to wall 7, and a bottom portion 15 substantially perpendicular to wall 7. Closure 9 is comprised of a substantially flat central section having downwardly extending flanges 19 for mating engagement with wall section 13 of side wall 7 and horizontal sections 21 for mating engagement with bottom portion 15 of wall 7. Downwardly extending attachment flanges 23 are also provided for reasons to be hereinafter explained. Longitudinal ribs 25 and transverse ribs 27 formed in closure 9 provide rigidity thereto. And end plate (not shown) may be provided for closing one end of the enclosure formed by body member 3 and closure 9 so that air provided to the other thereof is confined therein. If it is desired to utilize more than one terminal, the end plate may be omitted and the terminals connected end to end so that conditioned air supplied to one end of the first terminal will be communicated to all the terminals attached thereto.

An air distributing section 29 is defined on the top by closure 9, on the sides by downwardly extending flanges 19 and on the bottom by slotted plate 31 which is adapted for mating engagement with the bottom of horizontal sections 21. The slot in plate 31 is formed between upturned portions 33 which have downwardly projecting extensions 35 thereon. Upturned extensions 34 on each end of slotted plate 31 are provided with outwardly extending flanges 36. The extensions 34 provide end closures for air dis tributing section 29 while the flanges 36 in conjunction with the edges of body member 3 form a frame for attachment of the terminal to a supply air duct.

Silencing chambers 37, between slotted plate 31 and face plate 39 are provided with suitable sound observing material 41 such as glass wool. Face plate 39 is comprised of two pieces, each having a lower curved surface 42 and an upstanding side portion 43 adapted for connection to downwardly extending flanges 23 on closure 9. A plurality of studs 45 are provided in closure 9 for engagement by clips 47 to position the central portions of slotted plate 31 and face plate 39.

An air discharge regulating mechanism, adapted for sealing engagement with downwardly projecting extensions 35 of plate 31 is provided for varying the quantity of air discharged from the terminal. The discharge regulating mechanism includes a damper having a chamber 4-9 defined by perforate walls 48, 50, and imperforate walls 52 and 54. The walls are covered by a suitable fabric envelope 51 to form a damper bladder. The fabric may consist of a cloth impregnated with a suitable elastomer material, such as nylon fabric coated or impregnated with neoprene or a polymerized butadiene. A damper plate 53 is provided having a slot through the center thereof for accommodating the damper. A suitable sealing material 55, such as foam rubber, is affixed to the top surface of damper plate 53 to effect the seal between the discharge regulating mechanism and downwardly extending flanges 35. Bracing, consisting of a plurality of U-shaped rods 57 having two longitudinal rods 59 aflixed thereto as by welding, is provided for damper plate 53. Damper 4-9 is located within the damper plate slot and held in position by clips 61 which engage rods 59 and are attached to damper 49 as by screws 63. By controlling the air pressure supplied to chamber 49 and, therefore, the degree of inflation of fabric envelope 51,

the width of the air discharge slot between the envelope and the damper plate 53 can be varied to regulate the quantity of air discharged from the terminal. Inflation of envelope 51 may be accomplished by use of a control mechanism such as disclosed in United States Patent 3,167,253, granted Jan. 26, 1965, to R. A. Church et al.

A ditfuser plate 65 is provided to direct the discharged air outwardly along the ceiling of the room to prevent unwanted drafts therein. The diffuser plate is attached to the unit at one end thereof by the strap 67, which is affixed to face plate 39, acting in conjunction with a clip 69 suitably attached as by welding to diffuser 65. The opposite end of diffuser 65 is held in place by any suitable means such as screws, not shown.

As can be seen from the above, the room terminal of our invention is provided with a plurality of angled or channel members which increase the strength and torsional rigidity of the unit, thereby minimizing damage by rough handling in shipping and installation. Further, the separate pieces utilized in the assembled unit are selflocating thereby obviating the need for locating or positioning fixtures to hold the parts in proper position for welding. The unit of our invention also provides for only one main welded seam area on each side of the terminal thereby minimizing the number of welding passes necessary in building the unit.

All of the advantages pointed out above make the terminal particularly well adapted for factory mass production assembly line techniques resulting in low cost, high quality, pre-assembled terminals which can be shipped to the job site and installed by simply connecting the unit to the building ductwork.

While we have described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood the invention is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A ceiling air terminal for use in an air conditioning system comprising a body member having a planar top and two, parallel, downwardly extending sides;

a stiffening and locating rib formed in each side of said body member, said rib having an inwardly extending top portion substantially parallel to the top of said air duct, 2. wall section perpendicular to the top portion of the rib, and an outwardly extending bottom portion, substantially parallel to the top portion of said rib;

a closure for said body member, said closure having a plurality of longitudinal and transverse stiffening ribs and a plurality of openings formed therein for passage of air therethrough, said closure including downwardly extending flanges formed thereon for mating engagement with the rib wall sections of said body member, said downwardly extending flanges having horizontal sections formed thereon for engagement with the bottom portions of the body member ribs, said horizontal sections having downwardly extending attachment flanges formed thereon;

a slotted plate adapted for attachment at the edges thereof to the horizontal sections of said closure, said slotted plate having upstanding extensions formed thereon so as to form an enclosure defined on the top of said closure, on the sides by the down wardly extending flanges on said closure, on the ends by the upstanding slotted plate extensions and on the bottom by the slotted plate;

air discharge regulating means associated with said slotted plate to vary the quantity of air discharged through the slot; and

a face plate comprised of two sections, each section having an upstanding side portion adapted for connection to the attachment flanges formed on said bottom closure, and a substantially horizontal nonplanar section.

2. A ceiling air terminal according to claim 1 further including a diffuser plate adapted for attachment to the terminal in spaced relationship to said face plate so as to deflect air discharged from the unit along the surface of the horizontal non-planar sections of said face plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1964 Church et al. 23649 12/1964 Schutt 98-40 

